


Chivalrous Outlaw, A

by LizaCameron



Series: King Corn [2]
Category: The West Wing
Genre: Episode Tag, Episode: s06e13 King Corn, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2005-03-04
Updated: 2005-03-04
Packaged: 2019-05-30 13:41:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,690
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15097820
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LizaCameron/pseuds/LizaCameron
Summary: A Sequel toIntroductions in Iowa.  Josh and Donna have some fun on the campaign trail.





	Chivalrous Outlaw, A

**Author's Note:**

> A copy of this work was once archived at National Library, a part of the [ West Wing Fanfiction Central](https://fanlore.org/wiki/West_Wing_Fanfiction_Central), a West Wing fanfiction archive. More information about the Open Doors approved archive move can be found in the [announcement post](http://archiveofourown.org/admin_posts/8325).

**A Chivalrous Outlaw**

**by: Liza C.**

**Character(s):** Josh, Donna  
**Pairing(s):** Josh/Donna  
**Rating:** TEEN  
**Disclaimer:** This is just some not-for-profit fun done out of love and respect for the characters and those who created and own them.  
**Summary:** A Sequel to "Introductions in Iowa". Josh and Donna have some fun on the campaign trail.  
**Spoiler:** King Corn  
**Author's Note:** Beta'ed By: Kim 

_**She's here. Right now. Walking in this restaurant. Brown coat and a ponytail right in front of my eyes. Not a mirage this time. And she's coming towards me… no… no she's not. Damn! Couldn't she have picked a table where I didn't have to shift and twist myself into a pretzel in order to see her? Uh oh… now I'm a stalker. No I'm not. This isn't planned. I didn’t know she was going to be here. In fact I thought she specifically wasn't here. I asked yesterday when I checked in if they had a room for her and they said no… okay that might not be helping my not-a-stalker-defense. I'll keep that to myself in case someone asks. Why does she always have to hang with that whole posse of Bingo Bob buffoons? She's so much better than that. At least they aren't traveling with the cardboard cutout himself today. She looks good. A little tired maybe, but good. Really good. Five days hasn't changed her. Does she see me? She's not looking over here. Why doesn't she look over here? I'm looking at her. Look over here, Donna. Maybe I'll go over there and say 'Hi.' I wonder if we're okay. I think we're okay. Why didn't I call her this week? I should have called her. Should I have called her? I really, really wanted to call her. She could have called me. She said she was desirous of my friendship in that hall… so it should be her that calls me. I am so full of shit. I should have called her... I'll call her now. Well maybe not now, later. When she's not in the same room. It would be weird if I called her and she's in the same room. Since she is in the same room, maybe I should do something bold. I could slip the waiter a twenty and tell him to spill something, which would cause a ruckus and then she'd see me and know I was here. Then she would come to me… hmm could work…**_

"…after the interview with the local paper we move on to a Q&A at the local VFW, followed by Rotary and then a luncheon with the Downtown Business Leaders…" 

"That's all before lunch? Did you schedule me bathroom breaks?" 

Ronna glanced up from the schedule and dead-panned, "No, but you have two minutes and 15 seconds before the luncheon begins. That's your own personal time. What you do with it is your business." 

"Excellent, maybe I can take in a show." He sighed tiredly. "Why don’t we do the afternoon in the morning?" Glancing around the table, he asked, "That about it, everybody?" 

An affirmative chorus sounded from around the table. From everybody, that is, but the campaign manager. 

Matt looked at him, but Josh was staring at the other side of the hotel's restaurant. "Josh." 

He didn't answer or move, and Matt waited a second as everyone else at the table looked on with amused expressions. Raising his hand, Matt snapped his fingers in front of his obviously preoccupied campaign manager's face. "Josh!" 

"Huh… what?" Josh swallowed roughly and darted his eyes quickly around the table, suddenly overly alert. 

"Is that everything? Are these hardworking people free to call it an evening at a decent hour for once?" 

Josh glanced down at his watch. 9:30pm. Right, they were meeting over dinner. Dinner was over. Meeting was over. "Sure. Thanks, everyone. See you at the regular time tomorrow morning in the Maple Room." 

"Birch Room," Ronna corrected with an undisguised whisper. 

"Right. Regular time tomorrow morning in the Birch Room." 

With several quizzical glances at one another, the small campaign staff dispersed so that only Josh, Matt and Helen were left. 

"What… are you finally breaking under the pressure? Maybe you need an early night more than the rest of the staff does," Matt asked with a tone of bemusement. 

"No…" Josh shook his head. "No breaking… no pressure. I'm fine." 

"Really, because I think you missed the last 15 minutes of that meeting." 

"I didn't… I heard every word." 

"Where is lunch tomorrow?" 

Josh furrowed his brow and finally replied, "Maybe I heard every other word." 

"Who is she?" Helen asked with a slightly suspicious smirk. 

"Who?" Josh was visibly startled by the question. 

"The woman you've been staring at across the restaurant, ever since she walked into the room, oh… about 15 minutes ago-- just about the time you stopped paying attention. Who is she?" Helen asked again with an inquisitive glance across the room. 

He shook his head. "I don't know what you're-" 

"Josh, you may be a politician, but apparently you're a terrible liar. Because this lying thing you're doing right now… terribly transparent." 

Matt glanced behind him and surveyed the room; Josh cringed slightly at the rather obvious nature of his inspection. Matt Santos didn't do things in a small way and his very presence demanded attention. "Isn't that a table of Russell staffers?" 

Josh glanced and tried to feign nonchalance. "I'm not really sure." 

Matt shrugged and turned back around to the table, but Helen didn't let it go. "Is it the brunette? My bet is it's the brunette." 

"No! It's not the brunette!" Josh exclaimed with an indignant and slightly disgusted tone. 

"A-ha, then it's one of the blondes." Helen squinted at the table in the corner. "But I'm guessing it's the blonde with the ponytail, not the blonde with the short spiky hair—short-spiky-hair looks like jailbait, she could definitely get you arrested. You're not after the one who could get you arrested, are you, Josh?" 

"Helen, I think you should stop harassing, Josh. He doesn't know that you're teasing, he thinks you're just punishing him because you find yourself on the campaign trail, staying at a Howard Johnson's." 

"Nonsense. We're bonding. And he's running our life, but we don't know anything about his." She gave Josh a pointed look that made Josh think Matt had a point about the punishment. "Except now we know that when an underage, blonde Bingo Bob supporter enters the room, he suddenly loses all ability to concentrate." 

"She's not underage." 

"Ahh, but she is a Bingo Bob supporter… cavorting with the enemy?" Helen arched a finely shaped eyebrow at him. 

"She's not the enemy. She's… uh…" Realizing subterfuge was futile, Josh lowered his head and screwed his palms into his eyes tiredly. "…she's Donna Moss…" 

Matt furrowed his brow while turning around once again to peer across the restaurant. "Donna Moss…" His voice was thoughtful. "Donna Moss, wasn't she the one… Gaza…" Josh just nodded in the affirmative. "That's right, she worked for you." 

"Oh…" A look of dawning crossed Helen's face and she brought her hand to her mouth. "Of course, how is she doing?" 

"She's… uh… she's doing okay." Josh ran his hand roughly through his hair. 

"She was with you for a long time, right?" Matt asked curiously. 

Josh emitted a resigned huff and then allowed a half-smile. "Not quite eight years." 

"Why isn't she with us?" Matt eyed him curiously. "She really a big fan of Russell?" 

"I don't actually think so; I think she's a big fan of not working for me anymore." He had glanced back across the restaurant so he didn't see the look that passed between the other two at that statement, but Donna was no longer at the table. He felt a momentary jolt of panic that she'd left and he hadn't had a chance to say hello. Realizing that he had two people at his table looking at him expectantly, he quickly turned back to them, cleared his throat and continued. "But she should be working for us. We could use her. She's good and-" 

"And… she's headed this way," Helen interrupted. 

"What?!" Josh almost sprained his neck in his haste to turn back towards where Donna had been sitting moments earlier, only to find that she was indeed walking towards their table, ice cream cone in hand. 

Josh couldn't concentrate on anything other than the fact that Donna was headed toward them… towards him. But if he had he would have heard Helen unnecessarily confirm it was Donna. "…if she's the ponytail one, she's headed this way. And since she's headed this way, I assume she's the one, you've been gazing at." 

The last few words caught his attention. "I wasn't gazing." 

"It looked like gazing." 

"I'm going to have to agree with my wife on the whole gazing thing, Josh." 

But Josh had once again stopped listening to them, because Donna had just come to a stop at the edge of their table. He looked up at her and felt the familiar pull of just being in her presence. A pull, he ashamedly admitted to himself, that had become all too obvious and more determined once he no longer had the luxury of her constant presence in his life. 

Donna had noticed him the second she'd walked into the restaurant. And then she'd noticed that his eyes were glued to her table, and since she was fairly certain he wasn't trying to gain insight into the rival campaign or ogling Will, she decided to take it as a sign and make the first move by walking over. She'd missed him; it had been less than a week since she'd left him in the hall that night, but ever since then she'd been anxious to see him and try out the whole friendship thing-- with the guy whose world had stopped turning when she'd been hurt. Yeah, she'd thought about those words a lot since that night. In fact, whenever she wasn't working… and even sometimes when she was… it was all she could think about. Once she reached the table she took a deep breath, met Josh's eye and uttered a soft, "Hi." 

"Hi." His mouth went dry and he could do nothing but continue to stare up at her. She was definitely a sight for sore eyes. He knew he'd completely lost concentration when she'd entered the restaurant; now with an even closer proximity, he apparently had lost the ability to speak as well. 

After several long moments, they were both brought back to the present by the clearing of two throats. 

"Right." Josh shook his head slightly and looked back to his companions at the table. "Congressman, this is Donna Moss. Donna… Congressman Matt Santos and his wife, Helen Santos." 

Donna had switched her ice cream cone to her left hand and stuck her right one out to shake when she realized it might be sticky from the ice cream. She withdrew it quickly and wiped it on her jeans. "Don't you love a Howard Johnson's? Ice cream parlor right in the restaurant." Smiling nervously, she reoffered her hand. "It's nice to meet you, Congressman." 

Matt took her hand and wrapped his left hand around the back of hers, giving her a warm two-handed shake. "Donna, nice to see you again. If I remember correctly, when I was a freshman in Congress, you wrangled us for the meet and greet with the President." 

"Yes, that would have been me. You have an excellent memory." 

"Well it helps that everyone on the Hill always knew that in order to get to the Deputy Chief of Staff, they had to go through you." 

Donna felt a small stab of pride hit her. Even though she knew she'd stayed too long in her old job, she'd been proud to do what she did and serve the White House. When he let her hand go, Donna turned to Helen. "Mrs. Santos… a pleasure to meet you." 

"Likewise…" Helen smiled and took her hand. "But please call me Helen." 

Donna nodded and began to apologize. "I'm sorry, I don't want to intrude. I just wanted to come over and say hi, and since you were all…" 

"Staring at you?" Helen asked matter-of-factly. 

"No…" Donna shook her head hastily and stuttered, "No… uh… of course not… well, kind of... or maybe you were just sizing up the competition?" She raised an eyebrow. 

"No, we were most definitely staring at you. And you're not intruding. In fact, Matt and I were just commenting that we needed to check on the kids." She stood and gathered up her coat and purse. "It was lovely to meet you, Donna. Goodnight, Josh." 

Matt followed her lead, but stopped and turned back to Donna before exiting. "You look terrific, Donna." By the look he was giving her, Donna knew he was referencing her injuries in Gaza without actually mentioning them, and Donna smiled gratefully. 

"Nice to meet you…" She trailed off as they made their way from the table. She shifted her weight from one foot to the other and looked back down at Josh. "I didn't mean to run them off." 

"You didn't. Our meeting broke up a little bit ago," Josh assured her hastily, before changing the subject. "I didn't know you were going to be here." 

"We arrived this afternoon. You?" 

"Yesterday." He felt a familiar constricting of his chest at being near her again after an absence. They stared at each other, smiling, until Josh shook his head. "Sorry, sit down." 

"That's okay, I should get back." She glanced at the Russell table where Will was droning on, reading from his notebook. On second thought, the last place she wanted to go was back to the booth. And it's not like they needed her, they were just endlessly rehashing stuff they'd already gone over. 

Josh smirked up at her. "For a minute? I haven't seen you since… the other night…" 

Donna blushed and let her gaze drift to the carpet. "It's only been five days." 

"I know, but… I was hoping to…" He trailed off, not knowing how to verbalize what he was feeling. On one hand, they'd gone a long way towards repairing their relationship in that hall in Iowa, but on the other hand, he still had no idea where they stood as far as a personal relationship went. Especially being on opposing campaigns. Was she really just seeking his friendship? Or, like him, was she finally ready for more? 

Not having an answer, he changed the subject by motioning to her ice cream cone. "So what do you have there?" 

She smiled, realizing he'd chickened out of saying whatever it was he'd been going to say. That was okay; she had an idea of what he was hoping to do. Instead of answering, she offered the cone to him. 

He made a face as he looked at it, wondering what he was expected to do with it. 

His expression made her giggle. "What? Do you think I have cooties?" 

"Cooties?" 

"Yeah, cooties." 

"No, I don't think you have cooties." There was a thread of haughty sarcasm in his voice. 

"Well, then, here." She pushed the cone towards him again. 

He took the ice cream and met her eye before taking a bite. "Rocky Road?" 

"Yeah…" 

"Mmmm… it's good," he commented before eagerly taking another bite 

"Hey!" 

"What?" He looked at her with wide eyes, feigning innocence. 

"Share," she demanded playfully. 

With a dimpled grin, he handed the cone back to her. "So you're staying at this hotel then, too. Quite a coincidence." 

"Nope." She said licking the ice cream and handing it back to him. 

"Nope it's not a coincidence or…" 

"Nope, we're not staying at this hotel." 

"You're not staying at this hotel?" She just shook her head. "Wow, the dining options in this town must be worse than I thought if you've come here for dinner…" 

"I didn't come here for dinner, I came for ice cream." 

"O…kay." Josh just shook his head at her logic. 

She ran her tongue around the perimeter of the remaining scoop and it was an image so erotic that Josh thought he was going to jump right out of his skin… or his pants. Thankfully, he knew that would not be a good thing to do, especially with a table full of Russell staffers gawking at him. And gawking they were. Probably wondering what Donna was doing sharing an ice cream cone with the campaign manager of the upstart candidate. He knew that they didn't regard Santos as real competition… but they would. Just a matter of time. 

Donna failed to notice what her ice cream cone was doing to him and continued matter-of-factly as she handed the cone back to him. "We're at the Holiday Inn across the street. There is no real restaurant open after lunch, just a Denny's next door; we decided this was the better option." 

"Oh." Josh took a bite of the sugar cone and then knit his brow. "But you're just having ice cream? You need to take care of yourself, Donna. I know it's hard on the campaign trail, but you need to eat… and more than just ice cream." 

She felt her smile start as a small quirk of her lip and grow into a full grin by the time he finished speaking. He was worried about her taking care of herself; for some reason that made butterflies flit across her tummy. "You're worried about me?" 

"I just… I just know how the campaign trail is and I don't want you to…" He trailed off, high cheeks flushing slightly at the way she was looking at him. 

"Actually, I had dinner with a donor and he-" 

Josh snapped to attention instantly and he interrupted heatedly, "A man?" 

She smirked slightly. "Yes, that's usually what the pronoun 'he' indicates." 

"Will is sending you out to wine and dine men for checks?" Josh felt the heat rise instantly to his cheeks and an anger flare in his chest. He pushed back his chair; he would go teach that smarmy bastard a lesson. 

Donna reached out and grabbed his arm. "Yes… and his wife." 

"Oh." Josh relaxed slightly and Donna surveyed his newly sheepish expression quizzically. 

After a minute she decided not to press him and instead asked, "You seem a little stressed. When is the last time you did anything fun?" 

Fun? What was fun? He looked at her a second and was about to answer that he didn't know… but instead, a knowing smile appeared. "I just shared an ice cream cone with a pretty girl. That was fun." 

Donna struggled to maintain her composure, trying not to show how pleased she was at the 'pretty' comment, and while she could control her expression, she couldn't control the blush she felt creeping up her neck. "Before that?" 

Enjoying her blush, he shrugged and shook his head. "I remember singing in my office one Monday over breakfast… that was fun, and then everything went to hell in a hand basket by lunch." 

Donna blushed even harder, before shaking it off. "Well, that's no good. Remember how much fun we had on the first campaign?" 

Nodding, he met her eye. "I do. There was a lot more fun to be had on the first campaign… CJ, Toby, Sam… all of us together…" 

"Yeah..." She agreed, before shooting him a sly smile. "I have an idea." 

"An idea?" 

"For fun. You do remember *how* to have fun?" 

"I have formidable powers of recall, so I could probably figure it out." He nodded, wondering just what she was up to, but also ready, and more than willing, to find out. 

"Good. She stood up and motioned to the papers that were spread on the table, as well as his open backpack on the chair next to him. "Why don't you take your things up to your room and then come across the street. My room is 354." 

Josh felt his breathing arrest. "You want me to come to your room?" Josh finally asked incredulously. It wasn't like he hadn't been in her hotel room dozens of times over the years, but this time felt… different. 

"Yes." 

"Should I bring anything?" His head was a feeling a little spinny. She wasn't inviting him over to… no… she wouldn't… would she? Nah, but it would certainly be fun. 

"No, just yourself; I'll have anything else you need." 

"You'll have what I need?" Josh wagged his brow at her, finally recovering from the shock that the invitation to her room had caused. She just smirked at him until he finished his thought earnestly. "You always did." 

Her expression softened instantly and they found themselves once again staring into one another's eyes. Josh swallowed as he felt his heart begin to thump in his chest, as Donna bit her lip and felt another blush start to make its way across her pale countenance. 

Donna marveled at how he could make her swoon by saying something so simple, but she also knew that if they sat there all night, staring at one another, they would never get to the fun. Finally, she scooted her chair out and rose to her feet. "So… you'll meet me in my room?" 

Needing no more initiation than that, he jumped up and immediately started collecting his things. "I'm right behind you." 

"Good... good… I'll see you… in a few." Donna was suddenly nervous. She wasn't sure what had come over her, but she realized that she also hadn't had much fun lately … and just spending a very few minutes with him made her feel lighter… and frankly, she wasn't ready for it to end. 

"Yes, I'll see you in a few." Josh grinned and she turned to walk away. "Wait, Donna!" When she turned back and shot a questioning look at him, he grinned. "This fun… we aren't going to be doing anything illegal, are we? 

Donna started to shake her head and then stopped and adopted a thoughtful expression. "Actually, we might be. Is that a problem?" 

"No… no problem at all." 

*** 

Five minutes later Josh was standing outside of room 354. For the last month he'd had really only two things on his mind: the absence of Donna from his life and the campaign. So right now he felt slightly giddy with anticipation. He raised his hand to knock, but before his knuckles could connect with the wood, the door opened. 

He was about to make some smart remark about her standing there watching for him, when he caught her full view and realized what she was wearing. 

"Donna?" His voice was husky and just barely above a whisper 

"Yes?" 

"Where are your clothes?" 

"My clothes? Well, there are some clothes in that laundry bag over there, there are some clothes in my suitcase and… yes… I admit there are some clothes that I just now left on the floor of the bathroom." 

He gulped hard and felt a little dizzy. "No, I mean… what I mean is… where are your clothes that you were earlier wearing…" 

Donna let loose a low, throaty chuckle. "Excellent sentence structure there, Mr. Campaign Manager." 

"Donnaaaa." 

"It's a bathing suit, Josh. You have seen a woman in a bathing suit before, haven't you?" 

"Are we going to bathe?" He sucked in a breath and held it as he let his eyes wander down her slender form. She was wearing a modest one piece tank suit, but that didn't mean that it left a lot to the imagination. It was powder blue and set off her pale skin spectacularly. If he leaned close, he could probably start counting the freckles that sprinkled her chest. The tip of a scar peeked out from between her cleavage. Josh felt something deep inside him tug at the omnipresent reminder of what had happened to her not so long ago, when he'd almost lost her for good. 

"Yes we are." She replied matter-of-factly. 

"We are? Really?" His voice held no small amount of surprise. He hadn't known what to expect, but Donna is a swimming suit was not it. 

"This is not just a Holiday Inn, Josh…it's a Holidome!" 

"Okay…" he agreed mindlessly. His legs might be turning to Jello. Was that normal, for a grown man's legs to turn to Jello? "So?" 

"So… there's an indoor pool… and a sauna…" She raised her brow at him, "and a hot tub." 

"A hot tub?" The pitch of his voice was no better than a squeak. 

She giggled. "Don't you think getting in the pool… and the hot tub… sounds like fun?" 

Yes, he very much did. But he was completely unable to respond as he watched her pull on her sweat pants and a T-shirt. She turned and grabbed a stack of towels from the chair. She mistook his puzzled glance and confided, "I ordered some pool towels when I checked in, thinking I might have a chance tonight... glad I did." 

She had started pushing him out the door when the obvious occurred to him. "Donna?" 

"Yes?" 

"I don't have swim trunks." 

"So?" 

"So!" Yup, there was that squeak again. "What do you mean, ‘so’? I can't go naked!' 

"Why not? You bathe naked, don't you?" 

"Yes! But not with you, in a public pool!" Josh was horrified. Not the part about bathing naked with Donna, but the part about swimming publicly naked with Donna. In public. Naked. 

"Oh, right." She stepped back into the room, smiling suggestively at him. "You can wear your boxers." 

"But then what am I supposed to wear back to the hotel?" 

"Commando?" She suggested innocently. 

He just glared at her until she laughed. "I told you, I have everything you need." She started rummaging through her suitcase. "I sleep in boxer shorts and these ones," she pulled a pair of navy and green plaid boxers out of her suitcase and held them up triumphantly. "…I believe are your size." 

Josh, slightly red in the face, took the boxers from her hand and then asked curiously, "How do you know my size?" 

She just gave him a pointed look. 

"Right." He peered more closely at the underwear. "Donna," she glanced at him questioningly. "I think these *are* my boxers." 

She took them out of his hand and examined them. "Hmm… could be… they just ended up in my stuff awhile back and I never questioned where they came from." 

"You find mystery underwear in your drawer and you just put 'em on? With no regard to who or what might have been in them before!?" 

"Boy you're squeamish. I didn't realize your sensitive system extended to underwear issues." She tapped her finger against her chin thoughtfully, "But there are a limited number of places where I would have picked up boxers, so I guess if I would have thought about it, I would have realized they were yours. So they weren't a mystery to my subconscious." 

"Oh… so you sleep in my underwear?" Josh asked breathlessly. 

"Apparently… is that a problem?" 

"It's just…" Now Josh was sure he was going to fall over… or ravish her… one or the other. "Are you sure you should be sleeping in my underwear!? It's weird. I was your boss." 

"You're not anymore. So it's not weird." 

"But you had these and wore them to sleep-in while you were working for me…" His mind wouldn't stop spinning sexy scenarios of the two of them in his office and her in his underwear. Good thing he didn't know about this then. 

Shrugging she just nodded her agreement, secretly enjoying his reaction to her sleeping in his underwear, because she was having a similar, less obvious reaction to the revelation. Regardless of what her subconscious knew, the thought that she'd been sleeping in something so intimate of his, sent a jolt that reverberated through her entire system. "In any case it's a good thing I have them, you can put them on when we get out, since you're too prudish to go commando." 

"I'm not too prudish!" 

"I think you're a little prudish." 

"Donna, my pants have a zipper, do you have any idea-" 

She held up her hand in surrender. "Enough said. You're not prudish. Let's go." 

*** 

When they reached the deserted pool deck, Donna quickly shed her sweats. Staggered by the fact that less than a week ago they'd barely been speaking and now she was willingly disrobing in front of him-- albeit down to a swimsuit-- he stood frozen, watching her. 

Once out of the sweats, she looked over at him and frowned. "Aren't you getting in with me?" Josh still didn't trust his voice, but he did nod his head vigorously. Hell yes, he was getting in with her! "Well, then take it off." She rested one hand on her hip as she pointed and issued the order. 

He continued to stare at her, but didn't move. Emitting a low, throaty chuckle, she took several steps towards him; when she was right in front of him, she met his eye. The dark look there made her breath catch. It was unmistakable: desire. When she heard him suck in a breath, she gathered her courage and did what was only natural… she started undoing his belt. 

"What are you doing?" He asked in a low, guttural tone. 

"You weren't undressing. In order to get in the water, you need to undress. You want to get in the water with me, don't you?" 

Once again he nodded vigorously, but this time he grabbed her hands, worried that their logical next step would be to start working on the top button of his pants. "I'll do it." Josh was a man who felt like he could control himself, but he also knew without a doubt that if she continued down that path, he could make no guarantees. 

"Kay… but hurry up. I'm chilly standing here," she pouted as she wrapped her arms around her chest. His pants had been pushed off and were pooling around his feet when he looked up and noticed her pout. Oh, Lord. Of all the things he'd never realized he would miss, but that he'd actually missed most of all… her pout was at the top of the list. 

"I've really missed that." He froze. Did he just say that out loud? He hadn't meant to say that out loud. 

For Donna's part, she had knit her brow together in confusion. "You really missed what? Me ordering you to get undressed?" 

Slowly, he reached over and brushed his thumb across her pouty lips. Donna instantly felt her knees weaken. A small part of her brain worried that she was going to fall over and hit her head on the side of the pool if he continued to do that; the other part was only concerned about the thrilling path of his thumb across the soft skin of her face. When she met his eye, she felt her stomach flip over at how intensely he was studying her. 

"No, this expression. I've really missed seeing this expression on your face." He brushed his thumb past her lips once again and felt her suck in a breath and hold it. What was he doing? Was he trying to seduce her? On the deck of a Holidome pool? No. He definitely wasn't doing that. He was laying the ground work to seduce her in the bed of a Holidome room. Or someplace nicer. At least, eventually. So he dropped his hand and wagged his brows at her provocatively. "But I'm sure I would miss you ordering me to get undressed, if only you'd have done it more often." 

Mostly recovered, a broad smile spread across her features. "Well, then… take off your damn shirt." 

Deciding he really did like her ordering him to get undressed, he quickly shrugged out of the offending garment. 

As he stood next to her, now bare-chested, she let her eyes wander downwards, and felt her breath catch. Following the scar that bisected his chest, she noted that it was longer and slightly more violent-looking than her own, even though it had obviously had much more time to heal. Without thinking, she lifted her hand and gently traced the scar with her finger. It was as if she was compelled to touch it and couldn't have stopped herself if she'd wanted to. 

"Hey…" He murmured softly and she finally raised her eyes to his. "We have matching scars." 

"Yeah,” she said softly, “we have matching scars." She brought her other hand to his chest and flattened one palm against it. 

"Josh?" She whispered huskily, her eyes still trained on his scar. 

"Yeah?" His response was equally husky, but his eyes were trained on her face. 

Now her eyes flickered up to meet his. "Do you remember when you said that your world stopped turning when I was hurt?" 

Unable to form words, he just slowly nodded. 

"I know the feeling." She once again ran her index finger down the length of the scar as she spoke. Finally, she took a long deep breath and felt tears threaten somewhere behind her eyes. "I just wanted to remind you of that." 

"I never forgot," he whispered softly. 

She nodded and blinked back the tears. Glancing to the right, she saw they were just about a foot from the deep end of the pool. This was supposed to be about fun, not crying about the past; she'd done enough of that lately. So without giving any type of warning, she moved swiftly in front of him and pushed him hard towards the pool. He was caught off-guard and stumbled backwards towards the water. But he wasn't caught so off-guard that he wasn't able to hook an arm around her waist and pull her with him. 

Cold! Shockingly cold water enveloped her, but she didn't pay it as much mind as she normally would, because when she hit the water, she'd been pressed flush against Josh, skin to almost naked skin. It might have only been a split second, but it was one heck of a good split second. 

She came up shivering, but didn't let that stop her from jumping on him and trying to dunk him once more when he surfaced. When they both came up for air the second time they emerged laughing. He rubbed his eyes and as soon as he caught his breath, accused her, "You pushed me!" 

"You pulled me!" 

"I did. But only because you pushed me. We were having a moment and you pushed me in the pool!" 

"Well, we are supposed to be having fun. And I thought pushing you into the pool would be fun. Besides considering the way you hate to have 'moments,' I thought maybe you were really afraid of the water and needed a little help getting in." 

"I'm not afraid of the water." 

"And now I know." She smiled at him as she swam quickly to the other side of the pool. 

"And I don't hate moments. Well, I don't hate all moments." He watched her come to a stop directly across the pool from him as he fumbled what he was trying to say. "I didn't… I didn't hate that moment in any case." 

"We neither." Her voice and smile were a bit shy. 

He returned her smile and decided to change the subject. "Hey, you said we might be doing something illegal. What's illegal about this?" 

"You were really looking forward to living outside the law, weren't you?" She smirked at him. 

"A little bit," he admitted and splashed at her playfully. 

"Well, you are. It's after 10. The pool is closed after 10." 

He grinned at her with an evil glint. "We're outlaws." 

"Yes, we are, Josh." 

"Donna…" 

"Yeah…" 

"I'm a little cold." 

"I don’t think outlaws get cold." 

"Right," Josh agreed with bravado before shivering. "Donna?" 

"Yes, Josh." 

"Are you cold?" 

She smiled broadly. "Freezing." 

"So then I could still be an outlaw AND suggest we move to the hot tub so that you'll be more comfortable… but only for your comfort. I'm tough enough to stay in here all day… that is, if it were up to me." 

"Sure, you can do that and still be an outlaw… but you'll be a chivalrous outlaw." 

"Hmm… a chivalrous outlaw," he repeated thoughtfully as he quickly exited the pool at the shallow end and then waited for her to climb out behind him. He put his hand on her elbow and they both quickly moved to the hot tub. "I think I like that." 

Donna moaned a bit as she slipped into the hot water, her body reacting to going from cold to hot with no in-between temperature. "That feels good." 

"Yeah… it sure does," Josh replied, not taking his eyes off of her face as he followed her into the water, taking a seat in the tub across from her. 

They sat for a minute adjusting to the heat before Josh spoke again. "How would I introduce myself?" 

"Huh?" 

"As a chivalrous outlaw, how would I introduce myself? 

She cleared her throat and took on a faux deep voice. "Hi… my name is Josh Lyman. The chivalrous outlaw who is a bit of a pansy and can't tough out the cold and is only saved from it because-" 

"I was thinking more along the line of this," he interrupted with a shake of his head. He held out his hand to her across the tub. When she took it, he began, "Hi… my name is Josh Lyman… the chivalrous outlaw who likes being submerged in hot water with beautiful blondes who live outside the law themselves." 

She bit her lip and nudged him with her foot under the water. "You like being submerged in hot water with me?" 

"Well… yeah, sure. It's… uh… nice," he sputtered, rendered inarticulate by the mere sensation of her foot teasingly bumping against his thigh in the heated water. 

"Okay. But 'submerged in hot water'? Is that the best you could do?" 

"What do you mean?" He crinkled his brow. He'd been going for romantic, but now he suddenly feared that he'd completely missed the mark. 

"I mean, it makes us sound like a couple of Maine lobsters waiting to meet our demise." 

That remark made his dimples materialize in full force. He shrugged mischievously. "Well… if the claw fits…" 

Now she glared at him. "What!?" 

"I'm just saying, you are turning out a bit lobster-like." To make his point, he slipped out of his seat, reached across the tub and gently pressed the pad of his index finger into the tender skin of her shoulder. 

She looked down to where he was touching her, in just that one simple spot, and felt her heart pick up speed. She willed herself to remain as unaffected as possible, because let’s face it, it was silly to get worked up by being poked in the shoulder. So instead she studied, with fascination, the white fingerprint that was left on her skin when he pulled his finger away from her. "I have alabaster skin, heat makes me flush." 

"Yes, but are you sure it's the water making you overheat?" he inquired with a randy smirk. 

"What do you mean?" Her eyes now cast down at her chest, where she experimented with pressing her own fingers into the reddened flesh. 

"I mean it's obvious to me that you're overheating because I'm sitting across from you. Clad only in boxers." Once his words registered, she began to slowly raise her head as he continued. "Listen, it's normal… I have a certain effect on you… but it's nothing to be embarrassed about." 

She quirked her lip at him and asked with bravado, "Who says I'm embarrassed?" 

That caught Josh off-guard, and his eyes went wide. Finding an embellished confidence from the look on his face, Donna decided to take it a step further. She slowly moved towards him. "And I don't blame myself. What woman wouldn't be overcome by your magnificence?" 

He opened his mouth to respond, but her newly-near proximity had rendered him speechless, so instead he just gaped at her in mild shock. 

"And so what if you've let yourself go a little over the years." Her tone was entirely sympathetic. 

Because he was still so affected by her, it took a moment for the words to sink in. But when they did, he took it as a blow to the gut, because when a man is in a hot tub with the woman of his dreams, the last thing he's prepared to hear about are any physical imperfections that she might perceive. So, suffering from this massive blow to the ego, all he could do was lamely mutter, "What?" 

"Don't feel self-conscious, you work sixteen hours a day and eat... we won't even talk about what you eat… but there's nothing to be ashamed of in being over 40 and having a flabby upper body and a bit of a beer gut." She nodded with sympathy. 

Absolutely dumbfounded, Josh continued to stare at her, until finally he found his voice and began to sputter. "Flabby… beer gut… I don't have… what are you… how could you say that?" 

"You don't?" Donna asked with innocent surprise laced in her voice. "Let me see." And with that, she moved even closer to him. She put one hand on either of his shoulders. The sensation made his eyes bug out of his head and he sucked in a breath, desperately trying to get oxygen to his brain. Whether she was feeling for embarrassing flab or not, his awareness of her hands on his shoulders sent shockwaves through his entire system. 

Noting the look on his face with satisfaction but not betraying that fact, Donna slid her palms down his skin, underneath the water, languorously caressing each of his arms. "Hmmm…" 

"Hmmm, what?" Josh managed to squeak. Donna didn't answer right away. Instead, she looked him square in the eye, her gaze boring through him as she swept both hands back up his shoulders. Then, without losing eye contact, she caressed his chest before trailing her fingers lightly down to his stomach. Tracing his abs, she pressed her palms flat and then settled them at his waist. 

Josh couldn't have spoken if he'd discovered he was on fire, which, in a way, he was. Her hands were on his sides, pressing into his bare flesh, as her big blue eyes looked innocently at him. "Hmmm… you're right… my mistake. You're not flabby or beer gutty." She finally shrugged in response and then without ceremony, removed her hands from where they'd begun to flit under the elastic of his boxers, and moved back to her spot across the tub. 

It took several seconds before he was successfully able to form a coherent thought. But he knew for certain that he'd never been so knocked for a loop by a woman in his life. His heartbeat was frenetic in his chest, but thankfully the water disguised his insistent arousal. 

"What's wrong, Josh? You look a little red." 

"What was that?" His voice was a little high and a little heated. 

Donna shot him a self-satisfied smirk and relaxed back against the tub. "That was me making sure it's crystal clear who is overheating over whom." 

It took him several long second to digest what had just happened. When he did, a smile spread full across his face. "Is that right?" 

"Yes. You are clearly overheating over me, not the other way around." 

"Really? Because it seemed to me that you enjoyed your… little exploratory mission." 

"What makes you say that?" She asked noncommittally. 

"A hunch." And with that, it was Josh's turn to move slowly towards her and for Donna's eyes to go wide. 

"What are you doing?" She asked slowly as he eased himself next to her. 

"Coming to sit next to you. Doesn't bother you, does it?" 

"No… of course not." Donna didn't sound at all convinced. 

"Good." Josh came as close to her as possible, without actually touching her. She sat completely still, her face forward, as he turned towards her. He leaned over so his lips were less than an inch from her ear. 

Donna trembled from his proximity and from his hot breath that she felt caress her cheek and ear. Leaning a hair's breadth closer, he whispered, "I'm having fun. Thank you." 

Her heart raced and goose bumps appeared on her shoulders, despite the warmth of the hot tub. She turned her head towards him so quickly that his lips brushed across her cheek before he was able to move back several inches. Donna felt her skin tingle with the contact. Once she was facing him she felt her heart melt as the mere sight of his rich brown eyes. There was no trace of a smirk or a joke in them. 

Shifting slightly, she turned her body towards him and put one hand on his bicep where his arm lay across the back of the tub. Swallowing to soothe her suddenly dry throat, she responded in a husky whisper as she squeezed his arm. "I'm having fun, too." 

"I want us to have fun more often." Reaching over, he gently ran his wet, warm fingers down her cheek. 

Shivering, and then giggling at the sensation, she reached up and took his hand in hers, turning it over to examine it. Smiling, she met his eye again. "You're pruny." 

Without looking at their hands, he flipped his wrists so that his hand was palm to palm, finger tip to finger tip with hers. "You are, too." He took a deep breath. "Are you ready to get out?" 

She shook her head quickly. "Not yet." 

Feeling her heart beat out of her chest, she leaned slightly towards him and it only took Josh a split second to pick up her cue. She wanted him to kiss her. His heart leapt into his throat and a feeling of pure joy rushed through him. Because he was finally going to get to kiss Donnatella Moss; a monumental occasion, to be sure. And one that, at times, he thought was never going to happen. 

Josh brought his hand up to caress her face. She turned into his palm and surprised him by kissing it softly. Turning back, she shot him a mischievous grin. "Yup, wet and pruny.” 

Josh lips quirked upward. He saw her close her eyes and, at that, he closed the distance between them. 

But just as their lips barely brushed against one another—they heard a commotion at the entrance to the locker rooms. Bolting apart with all due haste, they turned towards the clamor and found five Russell staffers, including Christine and Will, emerging from the locker rooms. 

"Hey, look, this is where she went," Christine practically yelled. "Donna, we called your room to see if you wanted to break in here with us, but obviously you already had that idea. And… I see you're with a friend." 

The others had swarmed them before they knew what was going on. As they climbed in the hot tub around them, Donna hastily tried to explain, "Yeah, we thought it would be a good way to warm up, but we were just getting out." 

By the time Donna climbed all the way out of the water, Josh was already over at the spot where they'd dropped their towels and clothes. 

"You guys don’t have to leave on our account," Christine called out in a sing-songy voice that made Donna wonder if they'd gone to the hotel bar after dinner. 

Donna plastered on a smile as she wound one of the towels around her midsection. "We're not. We were just leaving anyway." 

"Donna, stay and hang out with us." 

Having 'hung out’ with them non-stop for way too long, it was about the least tempting offer she remembered receiving in quite some time. And considering what they had just interrupted, she could have personally wrung each and every one of their necks. The last thing she intended to do was stay with them. Especially with Josh standing in front of her, toweling off. They definitely had unfinished business. "Actually, I've been in awhile. I'm really done." 

"But I have a new assignment for you," Will piped up, a slight but unmistakable edge to his voice. "Since you missed the last half of the dinner meeting tonight, you might want to hear it." She wondered what he was doing there. He wasn’t in a swimsuit, but had rolled up his khakis and was now dangling his feet from the side… his campaign notebook still in hand. 

With resignation, Donna sighed. "Sure… okay. I'll be right there." She turned towards Josh sadly and with unmistakable longing in her eyes mouthed, "I'm sorry." 

Disappointment flooded through him, but it wasn't the kind of crushing discontent that had filled him for the weeks prior to their talk in Iowa. It was of a temporary nature; because he knew this wasn't the end… it was only the beginning. "It's okay," he whispered and winked at her as he pulled his pants on over his wet boxers. 

"What about these?" She held up the dry boxers she'd given him earlier in her room. 

"I'll live with the damp for the quick trip across the street. I'm sending out laundry tomorrow, anyway. You keep 'em. I wouldn't want to be responsible for taking away your favorite thing to sleep in," he finished in a low voice that could only be heard by her. 

"Who says they're my favorite?" She'd been trying to match his playful tone, but wasn't quite able to shake her sadness. 

"I'll see you… soon." He tried to sound as reassuring as he knew how. As disappointed as he was that they'd been interrupted, he couldn’t be too upset. Because while they may have been interrupted, things definitely seemed to be on the right track. A very right track. 

"Yeah... very soon." 

As he buttoned his shirt, she stood drying off her legs and pulling on her own sweats. She might have to stay and hear about her new assignment, but she wasn't getting back in the water with these people. There was so much she wanted to say to him, so much she wanted to finish, but she was hyper-aware of the five pairs of eyes that were staring at them from the hot tub. 

Finally, he was ready to go. "Thanks…" He smiled at her wistfully. 

She nodded and blinked back tears. She chastised herself for getting emotional, but they had been so close to something she wanted very badly. She swallowed roughly. "Goodnight." 

"Night…" He added as he looked towards the exit. He knew he needed to leave. The inhabitants of the pool no longer seemed to be focusing all their attention on them, but they were still in the room, able to see everything and able to judge any and all behavior. 

He was about to turn to leave when suddenly he stopped. To hell with them. He stepped back towards her with every intention of wrapping his arms around her and kissing her senseless. But then he heard a splash and a loud laugh, and he remembered it wasn't his place not to care what these people thought. He had to care about whether or not Donna cared what they thought. And she obviously did. So instead, he grabbed her hand quickly and squeezed. "Donna…" 

"Yeah?" 

"I just want you to know that I'll be a chivalrous outlaw with you anytime." 

She swallowed and finally smiled genuinely for the first time since being interrupted by the staffers. "I'm going to take you up on that." 

"You better." And with one final squeeze of her hand, he finally turned and exited the pool. 

The End. 


End file.
